U.S. patent number 4,528,700 [Application Number 06/600,548] was granted by the patent office on 1985-07-16 for support belt and buckle therefor.
Invention is credited to Lyman Johnston.
United States Patent |
4,528,700 |
Johnston |
July 16, 1985 |
Support belt and buckle therefor
Abstract
In combination, a support belt and a buckle having a frame with
a pair of opposed forward and rearward transverse members, the
latter being secured to one end of the belt. The other end of the
belt is adapted to pass through the frame and has means thereon for
engagement with the outside of the belt after such passage. The
frame has a slidably, rotatable tubular member movable towards and
away from the forward transverse member and the tubular member has
a pair of opposed planar faces joined by a pair of opposed curved
faces, said faces providing a pair of opposed, relatively sharp
edges. When the other end of the belt is passed through the frame
by looping around the tube, then under the forward transverse
member, and after engagement with the outside of the belt, the
motion causes the tube to move towards the forward transverse
member and also rotate so that the sharp edges engage the belt, one
to press it against the forward transverse member and the other to
press it where it loops around the tube, thus providing positive
engagement.
Inventors: |
Johnston; Lyman (Toronto,
Ontario, CA) |
Family
ID: |
24404051 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/600,548 |
Filed: |
April 16, 1984 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/338; 24/171;
24/196; 24/306 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41F
9/002 (20130101); A44B 11/006 (20130101); A44B
11/10 (20130101); Y10T 24/4084 (20150115); Y10T
24/4019 (20150115); Y10T 24/2708 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
A44B
11/10 (20060101); A44B 11/00 (20060101); A41F
9/00 (20060101); A41F 003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;2/338,DIG.6
;24/68E,309,163R,170,171,196,265R,265A,306,194,16R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1315185 |
|
Dec 1962 |
|
FR |
|
629393 |
|
Dec 1961 |
|
IT |
|
2169 |
|
1878 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: McCall; James T.
Assistant Examiner: Cranmer; L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Howell; William T.
Claims
I claim:
1. In combination, a support belt and a buckle comprising an
apertured frame having opposed forward and rearward transverse
members, the latter secured to one end of said belt with the other
end adapted to pass through said frame, means on the said other end
for engagement with the outside of said belt after said passage, a
slidably rotatable tubular member on said frame and movable towards
and away from said forward transverse member, said tubular member
having a pair of opposed planar faces joined by a pair of opposed
curved faces, said faces providing a pair of opposed relatively
sharp edges, the arrangement being such that, when said other end
is passed through said frame, it is looped around said tubular
member, then under said forward transverse member and, on
tightening, said tubular member slides towards said forward
tranverse member and rotates to engage one of said sharp edges with
the belt against the underside of said forward transverse member
and the other sharp edge at the same time engages the belt looped
around the tubular member in order to maintain the belt in position
after which said other end is engaged with the outside of said
belt.
2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said belt has at
least one detachable rubber component secured to the inside of said
belt.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to belts and buckles therefor and more
particularly to a belt for encircling the lower part of the human
body to provide support during strenuous activity, which belt has
an adjustable, secure and quick fit buckle as a linkage for the
ends of the belt.
PRIOR ART
Previously produced support belts for the lower part of the human
body i.e. the abdomen and/or hips, have been designed to meet the
requirements of light weight, comfort, ability to maintain position
after adjustment with quick securement or release.
It is an object of the invention to provide such a belt and buckle
therefor.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a belt and
buckle therefor which can be economically made and which will
effectively function without cutting or weakening of the webbing
after repeated use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The belt of the invention comprises a length of webbing, preferably
made of artificial fibre to ensure little or no stretch, which
webbing has a width sufficient to prevent folding and cutting into
the flesh of the wearer, also providing area support. The inside of
the webbing preferably has one or more rubber components with
cut-away portions to assist circulation of air, which components
are attached by means of self adhesive backing material, thus
permitting quick adhesion or removal to another location on the
inside of the belt.
One end of the webbing has a loop whereas the other end has a
Velcro fastener secured to the side of the belt opposed to the side
on which the rubber components are secured.
The belt has a buckle which includes a rectangular frame with
opposed spaced apart tranverse members connected by opposed side
members with the rearward tranverse member passing through the loop
in the webbing, the forward tranverse member being free until the
belt is secured. The side members carry a slidable cross bar which
in turn supports a tube rotatable thereon. The tube has a pair of
opposed planar faces separated by a pair of curved faces. The
junction of one planar face with one of the adjacent curved faces
provides a relatively sharp edge while the junction of the same
planar face with the other curved face produces a rounded edge; the
same applies to the other planar face. The curved faces and
contoured edges enable the belt to be easily adjusted while the
sharp edges cause the belt to stay in position when the buckle is
closed.
The arrangement is such that the free end of belt is looped around
the tube to emerge from the frame under the forward tranverse
member. To adjust the tightness, the free end of the belt is then
reversed and slides along one or the other of the curved surfaces
in easy manner. When the required degree of tightness is attained,
the free end is then reversed and the action forces the cross bar
to move towards the forward tranverse member with the result that
the tube will rotate until the opposed sharp edges exert their
effect. One sharp edge bites into the webbing where it loops around
the tube while the other sharp edge bites into the webbing where it
bears against the forward tranverse member and the belt stays in
position. The reason why the tube rotates on closure is that the
pull is along one of the planar faces.
To release the buckle, the wearer simply grasps the tube and
rotates it towards the forward member to a point where the webbing
bears against a contoured edge and curved face; the belt web will
then slide under the tension.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying
drawings in which;
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one side of a belt and disconnected
buckle according to the invention, the mid-portion of the belt
being omitted;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the other side of the belt showing
a rubber component and fastener;
FIG. 3 is a cross section of the buckle shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross section of the buckle with the belt in secured
position.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the description, and where particularly applicable, like numbers
represent like parts.
The belt of the invention has a web 10, made of a material having
minimal stretch characteristics such as artificial fibre, having a
width sufficient to provide area support for the part of the human
body to be encircled. The inside of the webbing is preferably
provided with one or more soft rubber components 12 intended to
increase the comfort of the wearer when the belt is in position.
The components have cut out portions 14 intended to facilitate the
circulation of air and alleviate the effect of perspiration on the
skin. To permit easy positioning of the rubber components 12, they
are backed with self adhesive material and Velcro fasteners for
attachment to the inside of the belt web 10.
One end of the web 10 is formed in to a loop 16. A rubber backed
leather pad 18 is secured to the web 10 adjacent the loop 16, the
pad 18 extending from the web 10 as shown. The pad 18 provides a
cushioning base for a buckle generally denoted by the numeral 22.
The other, or free, end of the web 10 is provided with a leather
stiffener and also an adjacent Velcro fastener 26 located on the
side of the web 10 opposed to the side carrying the rubber
components 12.
The buckle 22 comprises a frame formed of spaced apart forward and
rearward transverse members 28 and 30 connected by side members 32
and 34; in the usual way, the corners of the frame are rounded. The
buckle 22 is secured to the web 10 by locating the rearward
transverse member 30 in the loop 16 prior to sewing the web 10.
The side members 32 and 34 support a sliding metal cross bar 36 by
means of bifurcated end projections 37 which loosely straddle the
side members 32 and 34.
The cross bar 36 carries a tube 38, generally of lozenge cross
section, rotatable on the cross bar 36. The tube 38 is preferably
made of plastic material for ease of manufacture. The tube 38 has
opposed substantially planar faces separated by an opposed pair of
curved faces 44. It is a feature that each face 40 forms a
relatively sharp edge 48 with the curved face 44 on one side and
each face 40 also forms a curved edge 50 with the curved face 44 on
the other side.
The arrangement is such that when the belt is placed around the
wearer, the leather stiffener 24 is inserted into the buckle frame
22 between the loop 16 and the tube 38; it is then looped around
the tube 38 and brought out of the buckle frame 22 under the
forward transverse member 28.
To tighten the belt, the stiffener 24 is pulled in a direction
towards the loop 16 and, unless a curved surface 44 is already in
contact with the web 10, the tube 38 will rotate until one of the
curved surfaces 44 rides against the web, at which point, the web
will slide easily under the tube 38.
When tightening has been sufficiently achieved, the stiffener 24 is
then brought back in a direction away from the loop 16 and the
stiffener 24 is attached to the outside of the web 10 by means of
the Velcro fastener 26. In the tightening process, one of the sharp
edges 48, acting as a cam surface, will bite into the web 10 on the
tube 38 whilst the other sharp edge 48 will bite into the web 10
where it passes under the forward transverse member 28. At the same
time the cross bar 36 will move towards the transverse member 28
and jam the tube 38 on its planar face 40 against the the
transverse member 28 with the web 10 in between; the web 10 is also
held in place because of its contact with the planar faces 40. As
already stated, the web 10 will only slide when the contact is
exclusively with the curved surfaces 44. It follows that, to
release the belt, all that is necessary is to flip and rotate the
tube towards the forward transverse member 28, thus slackening the
bite of the sharp edges 48 and bringing the curved surfaces 44 into
contact with the web 10.
When the wearer tightens the belt, the rotation of the tube 38
causes the the cam surfaces 48 to snap in turn against the forward
transverse member 28 thereby emitting a sound on each occasion. The
number of these sounds can be noted in achieving the desired
support and hence the wearer can achieve the same support on
tightening the belt by counting the same number of sounds on each
occasion when the belt is worn.
* * * * *